October 11, 2005
By Ndaba Dlamini
LOSE yourself at the Wits Theatre in Braamfontein, where Just In Time interweaves mime and movement, and illusion and the surreal take centre stage.
Conceived by Athena Mazarakis, a lecturer in movement studies and physical theatre at the Wits School of Arts, Just In Time is a physical theatre production that attempts "to weave the threads of human relationships through a time loom".
Through mime, contemporary dance and clowning, Mazarakis creates a world where any movement backwards, sideways or forwards is not dependent on time. It is a world in which a word spoken a second before may mean anything, or something completely different a second later.
Just In Time examines the effects of these time distortions on different relationships, allowing performers to inhabit a universe where past, present and future are nothing but illusions - where one person's past might be another's future, where moments implode to reveal histories, where time can freeze, jump, extend and even move backwards.
The movement and dance, set to an intriguing backdrop of numbers, mathematical calculations and a portion of a seemingly befuddled clock, is graceful; the accompanying music is captivating.
Mazarakis completed her honours degree in drama (cum laude) at Rhodes University in 1995 and has been a full-time lecturer at Wits School of Arts since 2004.
She has performed for leading South African companies such as The First Physical Theatre Company and The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative. She has appeared in works like The Double Room, There's No Room In This Bed and Petra.
Her work Beyond Words and the Big Lollipop, which was created as the school's annual physical theatre production in 2003, received a Naledi Award nomination for best original choreography.
Just In Time is on at the Wits Theatre, on the corner of Jorissen and Station streets, in Braamfontein until 15 October. Tickets cost R35,50; students, learners, pensioners and Wits staff pay R24,50. Tickets are available at Computicket.
For more information, contact the Wits Theatre on 011 717 1376.
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